As workers attempt to clear away tons of debris, survivors of the twin disasters of March 11 are combing the wreckage for photos and other mementos of their lost loved ones.
As workers attempt to clear away tons of debris, survivors of the twin disasters of March 11 are combing the wreckage for photos and other mementos of their lost loved ones.
Some people have found mud-covered photo albums containing images of the smiles, homes and streets that were swept away by the tsunami.
"I was planning to give (one of them) a birthday present in April," said Kuniko Komuro, 69, who was looking for her niece's two daughters in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Komuro was staring at a photo of some of her relatives in an album she had found.
About 200 photos, whose owners remain unknown, are on display at a gymnasium in Onagawa in the same prefecture that is now an evacuation center. The photos, recovered by evacuees, were cleaned of mud before being exhibited.
"I hope we can return these valuable memories of their loved ones to the families," said Emiko Hayaki, 54, a part-time employee of the town who came up with the idea of displaying them.